Brick and the like and process of making the same.



v UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ARTHUR C. SPENCER, OF WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

. BRICK ,AN D THE LIKE AN D PROCESS OF MAKING THE SAME.

Re Drawing.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ARTHUR C. SPENCER, a citizen of the United States, residin at Washington, in the District of Colum ia, have invented certain new and useful Imrovements in Bricks and thelike and rocesses of Making the Same, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to brick and the like and process of makin the same; and it com rises as a new artic e of manufacture a brick or like shaped article for building purposes, such as hollow tiles, composed of baked greensand or glauconite granules united together by a sintered union and it further comprises a method of making such articles wherein glauconite or greensand marl is first raised to a high temperature in order to soften the granules and render them adhesive, such operation of raising to a high temperature being coupled or not as the case may be with the recovery of such potash as is evolved in the heating, and the heated or roasted granules are thereafter pressed into the desired shape; and it com prises as a new article of nianutacture structural shapes such as brick, composed of pressure-welded reeusand particles, witi or without a bin or therebetween; all as more fully hereinafter set forth and as claimed.

The object of this invention is to provide a simple, cheap and economical method of making bricks and the like having a characteristic appearance different from that of the ordinary clay bricks, and adapted for building and ornamental purposes; doing this by an economical and continuous method. To this end I heat ordinary greensand or glauconite to a high temperature; at a temperature sufficient to make it more or less plastic and then press into the desired shape; the bond between the granules in the finished article being due to the adhesive properties displayed by the heated glauconlte granules.

As is well known glaucomte or greensand marl is found in extensive beds in many laces on the Atlantic coast of the United tates and elsewhere. It is a light green mineral approximating more less in composition toa double silicate of potassium and iron. It is resumed to be of marine origin.'

It is found n beds of more or less pure material and is also found admiied with shell marl; that is calcium carbonate in the form Speemeatlim of Letters Patent.

Patented June 11, 1918.

Application filed Angnst 24, 191 Serial no; 188,053.

of shells. The two qualities of material may be; designated for the present purposes as reensand and greensand marl. Either may e employed for the present purposes. I have elsewhere (together with E. (l. Eckel) disclosed and claimed a process of recovering potash from greensand wherein the greensand is run through a cement kiln under cement-forming conditions with the result of volatilizing out the potash and making what is known as ferro cement; a cement differing from an ordinary Portland cement in that ferric oxid replaces the alumina of ordinary Portland cement. In so doing, (see Patent 1,209,219) greensand is mixed with powdered limestone or the like and transmitted through a cement kiln. Here the lime displaces the potash which goes ofi as a fume mixed with the kiln gases and forms a clinker from which ferro cement may be made by grinding. I may utilize this prior method in the present invention. mixing greensand with the proper amount of fine ground limestone or other form of calcium carbonate and kilning the material. But instead of cooling the clinker and grinding to make a cement I take the clinker while still hot and plastic and press it into shape in a brick mold or in another mold adapted to form bricklike building material such as the ordinary hollow tiles. In so doing I recover the potash as a by-product, But instead of mixing limestone withthe material in the manner just stated, I may heat the greensand as it is, either in a rotary kiln or in a stationary kiln as may be desired. In this heatin if it be relatively slow and with plenty 0% furnace gases or steam in the atmosphere bathing the particles I can also secure potash which forms a valuable by-product. Or I may pay no attention to the potash and conduct the heating operation primarily with the object of securing plastic granules of greensand which can he agglomerated together by heat. In. the heating zone the presence of more or less marl (that is shell fragments) in the material is no special disadvantage; it may indeed form a bonding agent to some extent. However, in this modification of my invention, I consider it more advantageous on the Whole to take the greensand not containing much of these shell ragments.

In a specific embodiment of the present ill invention in making hr'u'l l'rolu grvemaud, if the material as it l'Ullll'B from the pits or 0X('ll\tlti(illS ivnot in a loow rondition, l disintogralv it l'lioniug lily. l sually l next dry it; but this dryiu; may im doing in corrcu-ction with the healing slop. 'lhe material, dried or uudr'ual. in lll'Xl (-aused to pass l?) a traveling 1--1 ream or rolilulu as the case my ho through a suilahly heated zone. it any. for example, he passed through a ro-- wry lillli like l'lllir' l' uwd in making Portland ovnwut. aggloinerntiug iron ores, eta, as; a l 1:; traveling stream panning against an ill imaQli uni-rent of llauuand llaiue gasee. zolunin oi the granular umteria] may in passed down a suitahly healed Sllilft. Pr ng it through a shall.u|d-Hhel'l furnari; is less advisable hecaur-ae oi the adhesive properties of the mall-rial when it bGI'FJIHQS hot. The heat in regulated in lhizv operation So that, the original granuleii heroine nerni iii-zed, at least externally. their aurialim h mining quite soil or iquid, And the move nwni of the stream or cohunu ii no l'tgm inled that at the time the malw'ials emerge from the heating Zone ilu or b ual gran whirh are rather small nill heroine -:'ili;-r'e-'l n' cliukem-d iflglllul' in the form o" what may he ealiird minor rounded ll};- l' .2ll --i P-y careful operation l am able to onlrol the Sim. of these minor aggregates and produce them in fairly uniform sizes. in making brick and tile it is uaually eon veoirnt to have liar-we minor aggregates range in dimneter from g to l illlfll. As a, rule, and especially when produced in a rotary kiln. like a cement kiln these minor aggregates are spherical oat least rounded andtlieir surfaces are plastic.

lfly daring these minor aggregates in a mold and submitting to pressure they are r'midily formed into what may he termed niajor aggregates, (301111105911 of the original granules superficially welded. together. By lorciug' the mania-i=1! through a die a coinpaet column or other nhape is formed from which desired porliom may hemut to pro lilhi'f; hrirlr and the lilu-v llcrause of the preiseure the minor aggregates lose their apheri 'al form and heeonie ellipsoidal, or lend to lMf OIIm polylwdral. 'llushape of the mold i; of zizonrsw that llll'i-ll liil to: the iinal '11s. The nuiturial may he molded into bricks, tiles or various; airliiie tural snap-ea in any convenient uranium in making hrirics the prodlu-t is ii dense material resel'nhling: a vitrified lu'irk of ruifor'n hardness 'lln: rolor \ariw armrd- '11 :7 lo the Pon l tions liiolii' whiz-h lilo firing: HF iwi'siii'ifj li lieu p adhif iillg ol ho grown a m (iv: truly oiudiu m0; m'iin'liliowof air he not employed the bricke have a deep green color. in making building brick Idll'dy use molda or dies with square corners. \Vilh paving hrii'k (a use for which the material is wry well adapted) it is better to use molds with corners rounded or hevelvd. 'l'he hrieks made :linst dvsrrihed are very tough and resistaal, although not very hard hy the seloromeler test. l'larder or more liinty products may he readily olr tallied by the expedient of line grinding the greennand. prior to the firing; or by using a modieuni of line ground limestone or lime in admixture. Various greenaauds (onlain lug shells may he line ground and lired to give a very hard or l'linly hrirk. Where calcium carbonate, naturally prom-in or an titit-ially admixed, is used. it is in general much hotter to line grind the material prior to firing. llard resistant hrivlis may he made with. moderate :nnouula of lime, any 2 parts (,a() for every lll part no; hut an a rule I think it hotter to employ a larger amount oi lime, or its equivalent. A proportion an high as 9 parts of lime for every lU parts f silica (a: shown by analysis) in the gg'rw-nsalul giver a good produrl. Equal parts by weight of gri-ensand and line ground limestone. shells or the like give a good prodiul,

ln addition to the lime or instead of it. there may he used varioux lluxin g or bond iu; agents, such as fluorite, cryolite, callllllll rhlorid, sodium chlorid, calcium phosphate, various sulfates etc. The presence of lllgllllitfflflllh' or other aluminous materials in the raw mixture is also in some cases advantageous as aiding in the attainment of a proper temper of the minor aggregates giving them ready-welding characteristics.

In any method of firing there will he a certain amount of potash evolved as fume and. this may be reeovored by suitable met-in odfi, as by electrical. precipitation, scrubbing with water, admixture of steam, and conilOJllillllfilL etc. In firing the greensand alone there is less evolution of potash than where it is tired in admixture with more or less lime (limestone). In either case the evolution of fume is in a measure proportional to the time druing which the material is exposed to heat, and to evolve a maximum amount; of potash the heating should be relatively long continued.

While I have stated more specifically a dry method of making the 'brick, there are certain wet methods which may also be employed. The greensand may be introduiced intothe kiln as a slurry, paste or dough. l eing :1 rotary lvilnfthe movement of lhe material forms it into pellets during lhu drying state in the upper or feed end of the kiln. green into and through the hot zone wherein iiw we wright iuio the desired condition T h0 0 pellets gradually prov of incipient fusion and plasticity. Separate means may be employed for effecting the pellet formation and drying. i

The bricks formed under the present invention ordinarily do not require to he annealed.

What I claim is:-

1. The process of forming bricks and other structural shapes which comprises heating a charge of material containing greensand. until the particles become exteriorly softened and then compressing into shape in suitable molds.

2. The process oflorming bricks and other structural shapes which comprises heating a charge of material containing greensand and a fluxing bod until the particles become exteriorly softened and then compressing into shape in suitable molds.

3. The process of forming bricks and other structural shapes which comprises heating a cl'iarge of material containing grcensand and lime until the particles be ome cxtcriorly softened and then rrnnprt sing into shape in suitable molds.

1-. The process of forming hricks and other structural shapes which comprises: passing a charge comprising grccnsaml through a rotar kiln until the Hllftu'cs ol' Ihtgreen sand parti les soften. delivering the greensand from the kiln in a hot plasti condition and compressing it into the desired shape.

The process of making bricks and the like which Comprises pas ing a 1nllrerulent. charge containing grecnsaml through a heating zone wherein said charge is liroughl into i a state of incipient fusion and wherein plastic minor aggregates are formed, and weld ing such minor aggregates into shaped major aggregates.

6 1e process of making bricks and the like which comprises passing a pulverulent charge containing greensand through a heating zone, bringing said charge into a state of incipient fusion in a nonoxidizing atmosphere, forming minor aggregates in said heating zone and welding such minor aggregates into shaped major aggregates.

7. The proccss of making bricks and the like which comprises passing a charge containing greensand through a heating zone wherein said charge is brought into a state of incipient fusion and wherein plastic minor aggregates are formed. and Welding such minor aggregates into shaped major aggregates.

The process of forming other structural shapes which comprises heating a. charge of material containing grecnsand and lime until the particles become exteriorly softened, forming minor aggregates and then compressing said minor aggregates into shaped major aggregates.

i Structural shapes made of pressure \relilcil preformed pellets, said pellets comprising sintercd grecnsaml as an S8lllllll ingredient.

1t). Structural'shapes composed of pres sure welded preformed pellets, said pellets comprising ('(r'HlDlZPI'tHl lime and grccnsand.

In testimony whereof, I affix my signature.

ARTHUR SPEN ER.

bricks and 

